Reviewing Randy Orton’s legacy with families.

His “Legend Killer” persona made him shrewd enough to know which mistakes not to make as a legend, while he was already equipped to reach that status.

But his experience with Triple H, Ric Flair & Batista in Evolution, though long and flourishing, was punt-kicked in its tracks when his teammates turned on him after he won the World Heavyweight Championship.

He was never able to trust anyone again. The shock resulted in him hearing voices; ones that he ignored for the longest time and then secretly succumbed to their urging. Once the cat was out of the bag, he revealed his own evolved form – the sadistic Viper.

Initially, in denial, he formed his own “family” – Legacy. Unequipped with the understanding of how to sustain that bond, he did what he learned from The Game. He destroyed it.

None of his tag team endeavours proved to satisfy him either. After a long and​ lonesome rise to the top, the only family Randy seemed to have needed was himself… and the voices in his head.

In a twist of fate, he reunited with Evolution against a common enemy. Having dismissed that temptation in his younger years, he saw an opportunity to get back his family. To take what’s his.

After all, had his Evolution family never abandoned him in the past, he wouldn’t have succumbed to those voices. He tried to get his sane life back, only to find Batista walk out. With Triple H, he hatched a plan, to destroy the family of his opponents. ‘Divided we fall’ is what he’d learned and taught the hard way, after all.

With Seth Rollins lured to stab his family in the back, he was welcomed hesitantly at Orton’s side. He saw the kid rise, as he had with Evolution. He imagined the rookie’s fall but kept mum, for all men must learn the hard ways of life. But he noticed that he was again being pushed away from the spotlight, although this time more subtly, by Triple H. He was losing his family again, only this time piece by piece and like he didn’t even matter. He raised alarm but was weeded out.

Months down the line he temporarily took the youngster’s place in The Shield, perhaps out of guilt. But that unit was taken out by another closely knit family. The Wyatts.

While recuperating he thought that Bray’s family had a bond unbreakable… The family members were willing to sacrifice themselves for their leader with no hesitation. He saw The Wyatt Family and saw what he couldn’t have. His rightful place in the spotlight (albeit of the buzzards) protected by the bond of family.

The jealousy and anguish brewed… But time healed both, the wounds on the inside and out. Or did they just suppress them?“Fate. She is a strange beast…” once exclaimed by Wyatt, did its damage as their paths crossed yet again at a crucial juncture at both their careers: Wyatt was on the rise whereas Orton was spiraling downwards.

He saw his opportunity and used his perceived weakness as his strength. He couldn’t beat The Wyatts, so he joined them. And decided to break apart that ghastly bond that has always eluded him… While bringing him back under the spotlight.

The Viper knew when to strike, but the leader of the family showered him with love, he understood Orton’s still unearthed abilities. And respected his legacy. The Viper in his blindness shattered the very bond he’d been looking for throughout his life to make it to the spotlight. He made the spotlight his own, but then all alone, burnt in his own light… With the only family that he could trust, the voices.

What’s next for Orton?Should Randy Orton’s next gimmick be him entering factions/teams and destroying them from within? Imagine him joining The New Day. The Viper scaling among Booty O’s. Let that visual sink in! Cheers.